The Syracuse spiral continues as the Chiefs were swept by the Mud Hens, losing 7-1 and their sixth straight game. Starter Craig Stammen was taken deep twice, accounting for four of the five runs he was charged with, as he gave up six hits and a walk over six and 2/3rds innings. The ‘pen wasn’t much better as Josh Wilkie let in the fifth as the Mud Hens touched him for four singles in his his first five batters faced while Collin Balester was lit up for two runs in the ninth. Chris Marrero’s solo HR in the fourth accounted for the single Syracuse run, as the Chiefs collected just six hits on the night.

Stellar pitching and strong defense carried the Sens to a 4-1, 12-inning victory over the Rock Cats in New Britain. Brad Meyers threw eight innings, allowing the lone run on six hits, while Cory VanAllen and Hassan Pena each threw two shutout innings in relief. Harrisburg turned three double plays while Chris Rahl gunned down a runner at the plate. Tyler Moore singled and doubled and scored a run while Steve Lombardozzi singled twice and drove in a run as the two combined for four of the eight Harrisburg hits.

Marcos Frias no tiene gusto del Red Sox. For the second time in as many starts, Salem slammed him as the Red Sox beat the P-Nats 5-2. Frias gave up another home run and all five runs (four earned) on eight hits and two walks, though he did strike out six over his five and 2/3rds innings. Offensively, Potomac had four extra-base hits but was a miserable 0-for-10 with RISP with five of the seven LOB in scoring position. Steven King had three of the P-Nats seven hits, including two doubles.

A three-run second was more than enough as the Suns pitchers pulled a Pepco on the West Virginia Power, limiting them to just two hits and two walks in a 3-1 victory. Starter Bobby Hansen, who was knocked from the box in the first inning last time out, shook it off and tossed six strong innings, with one run on two hits and a walk. Wilson Eusebio and Ben Graham combined for three scoreless innings of relief, for the hold and save respectively. The Suns scored all three runs in the second, courtesy of a Randolph Oduber RBI single and a two-run shot from Brett Newsome.

The curse of the GBI may be alive and well as Tom Milone suffered his worst outing of the year as the Chiefs fell for the fifth straight time, 7-2 to Toledo. A five-run third chased Milone, who only had one scoreless inning out of his three and 2/3rds, allowing all seven runs on 10 hits and one walk. The ‘Cuse bullpen held Toledo down the rest of the way, but the Chiefs offense was held to just eight hits, leaving eight men on base. Boomer Whiting went 2-for-5 but was caught for the fifth time this year against just two steals. Lee Hyde cleared waivers and rejoined the team, pitching a scoreless 7th inning.
Harrisburg 6 Altoona 2
∙ Peacock (W, 3-1) 7IP 5H 1R 1ER 1BB 7K 1HR
∙ Mattheus (S, 2) 1⅓ 0H 0R 0BB 1K
∙ Moore 2-4, 2R, 2HR, 3RBI
∙ Rhinehart 1-2, R, HR, BB, RBI

The Sens went yard three times, with Tyler Moore’s second longball capping a three-run eighth as the Senators flattened the Curve, 6-2. Brad Peacock won his third game with seven strong innings, with just one run allowed on five hits and one walk, and seven strikeouts to jump to 2nd place in the Eastern League with 28Ks in 24 innings. “Dolla” Bill Rhinehart and Moore went back-to-back in the third inning as the Sens scored six runs on just six hits.
Ryan Mattheus got the last four outs fir his second save of the season.

The P-Nats bats came alive last night, peaking with a five-run third, as they smacked 15 hits in an 8-6 win over Myrtle Beach. Steven King, Cutter Dykstra, and J.P. Ramirez each collected three hits, as the trio combined for four runs, three doubles, and three RBI. Starter Trevor Holder earned his first win with a four-run, six-inning outing with eight hits and two walks allowed. He also struck out three. Pat Lehman was summond for the second straight night to put out a late Pelican rally to earn his fifth save.

The beating from Wednesday night continued on Thursday as the West Virginia Power piled on another seven runs and doubled up the second-inning score of 7-1 to 14-2. Every Suns pitcher was roughed up, much of it self-inflicted, as the four pitchers combined for nine walks. Bryce Harper’s first-inning home run highlighted the eight-hit output from the Hagerstown offense.

Game two of the doubleheader was much more even, as the Suns edged the Power 3-2. Bryce Harper, who was involved in a much ballyhooed exchange of words on Tuesday night, led the offense with a 2-for-3 night and 2 RBIs. Since the incident, Harper has gone 4-for-8 with a double, a homer, a walk, a stolen base, and three RBI. Starter Taylor Jordan went to 5-0, pithcing five innings and allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out four. Blake Kelso and Adrian Sanchez joined Harper on the hit parade as the 1-2-3 bats went 6-for-10 with three doubles on the evening. Chris Manno struck out two while nailing down his third save.

Toledo’s Charlie Furbush got the complete-game win as the Chiefs mustered only two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out eleven times, as the Mud Hens plucked the Chiefs, 6-2 in the first game of the double-header. Syracuse’s J.D. Martin served up three home runs to earn his 2nd loss of the season, pitching four and 2/3rds innings, allowing six earned runs on six hits with no walks and no strikeouts. Matt Chico kept the damage to a minimum, pitching two and a 1/3rd innings of scoreless relief, giving up two hits and no walks while striking out one. Jeff Frazier got the biggest hit of the game for Syracuse in the top of the seventh, a solo home run, his second longball of the season.

Syracuse mustered only five hits in a 3-1 loss to Toledo in the second game of the doubleheader. Erik Arnesen, recently promoted to backfill Roger Bernadina’s callup to Washington, took the loss. He pitched five complete innings, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out four. Collin Balester retired both batters he faced in the top of the sixth before the game was called due to rain. With the doubleheader loss, the Chiefs have now lost four in a row.

An ugly, ejection-filled 11th inning took the shine off a furious four-run rally in the ninth to tie the game, as the Altoona Curve got past the Senators 6-5. Beat writer Geoff Morrow describes the series of events here. Starting pitcher Ryan Tatusko went the first five and 2/3rds of inning, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out four. Hassan Pena, the third man out of the ‘pen, took the loss after pitching one and 2/3rds innings, allowing one runs on three hits while striking out two and a hit batsmen that prompted his ejection. Offensively, the Sens pounded out 13 hits, with the top third of the lineup — Steve Lombardozzi, Josh Johnson, and Jesus Valdez — collectively going 6-for-14, with three runs scored, two doubles and four RBI.

Pelican home runs in the 5th and 6th innings broke open a 1-0 game and sent the Potomac Nationals to a 6-3 loss in the first game of the doubleheader. Starter Mitchell Clegg held Myrtle Beach to a pair of doubles through the first four and 2/3rds before giving up hits or walks to six of nine batters before giving way to Rob Wort, who threw a wild pitch, and gave up a home run to allow both runners he inherited to score before getting the one out he needed to escape the jam. Potomac rallied for two runs in the seventh, taking advantage of Pelican walks and wild pitches and a hit batsman.

Jose Lozada’s two-out single in the top of the 7th broke a 3-3 tie to give the P-Nats a split of the doubleheader. It was just the fourth hit with RISP, as the P-Nats collected ten hits, drew six walks, and stole three bases but left 12 runners on base. Starter Danny Rosenbaum went the first five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks, while striking out six. Joe Testa got the win in his first appearance of ’11 while Pat Lehman weathered a leadoff single to earn his fourth save of the year.

The first matchup of the top two picks in the 2010 draft was reduced to a five-pitch walk in the the top of the first, thanks (well, no, not really) to yet another game affected by rainfall. West Virginia took batting practice a 7-1 lead against Suns’ starter Chris McKenzie who walked four of the 13 batters he faced and gave up four hits, including a two-run home run with two outs in the second that chased him from the game. Wilson Eusebio walked a batter and allowed a double before play was halted. The game will be resumed today and completed to the regulation nine innings, with a seven-inning game to follow.

Syracuse-Toledo — PPD
Tuesday’s game between the Syracuse Chiefs and Toledo Mud Hens was postponed due to rain. The game will be played Wednesday as part of a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. at Alliance Bank Stadium.

Thanks to a single run in the fourth and three runs in the fifth, the Senators were able to grab an early 4-0 lead against Altoona. While the Curve would fight back and score one in the eighth, it would not be enough as Harrisburg held on to a 4-1 victory. Late-season pickup Erik Davis finally earned his first win of the season, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing no runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six. Ryan Mattheus earned the save, his first, pitching a perfect ninth and striking out one. Jesus Valdez and Josh Johnson were the batters of the game, collectively going 5-for-8 with a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in.

Potomac-Myrtle Beach — PPD
Potomac was rained out for the fifth time in eighteen games as heavy thunderstorms forced yet another doubleheader today. Last year, the fifth rainout (out of eight) took place on July 29.

Bryce Harper went deep for the third time in four games, but like the two other Hagerstown home runs, it was just a solo shot as the Power surged past the Suns, 8-5. Starting pitcher Matt Grace was less than amazing, giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits over just four innings. It was his third straight start in which he failed to either go six or allow less than four runs. Hagerstown collected a respectable 10 hits, with Randolph Oduber, Blake Kelso, and Adrian Sanchez each getting two, but only left five runners on base and had just three RISP opportunities.

Another guest column from our resident “draftnik,” Marcus Wyche, who earlier this year gave us some Top 5’s for the Nats’ top two picks of the 2011 draft at #6 and #23. Without further ado…

By Marcus Wyche
This is just speculation: A lot can (and will) change between now and the draft. In fact, I looked back at my first article and only two of the players I had in my Top 5 for pick number 6 made the top ten of this mock article (YIKES). Nevertheless, here is my early guess at the Top 10 picks of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA
This is the same organization that said they’d have taken Jameson Taillon number 1 if they had the first overall pick last year. While they did pick up three high-ceiling pitchers in last year’s draft, all three will take a while to develop and the Pirate rotation needs help now. Cole can be up to the big club in the next year or so and help stabilize the rotation.
Stats (this and those that follow, as of 4/25/2011): 2.78 ERA 0.88 WHIP 9.59 K/9

2. Seattle Mariners: Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice University
Dustin Ackley, Anthony Rendon and Jutsin Smoak could make for a nice infield for years to come. Rendon’s bat is great and the Mariners can use the help on offense. It won’t take long for the Mariners to make this pick.
Stats: .350 AVG 1.105 OPS .491 wOBA

3. Arizona Diamondbacks: Danny Hultzen, LHP, UVA
While it’d be a nice story if the Bethesda native gets drafted by one of the local teams, I don’t see him getting past Arizona. Hultzen’s stock has risen tremendously this year and I can’t see his stock getting any higher by staying in school so he shouldn’t be a tough sign. He’s a lefty with a lower 90s fastball, great command and really knows how to pitch.
Stats: 1.31 ERA .87 WHIP 13.63 K/9

4. Baltimore Orioles: Dylan Bundy RHP, Owasso HS
With all their young studs leaving the minors and pitching in the majors currently, there isn’t much room left in their ML rotation for another College guy who is quick to the majors. I think they take the best HS pitcher available here and draft Bundy to be a part of the next wave of talent for the Orioles. Stats were unavailable as we went to virtual press, but here’s a great scouting report from the folks at Orioles Nation.

5. Kansas City Royals: George Springer, CF, UConn
We’ve all heard about how great the Royals system currently is. They’ve gotten to be so strong not just by paying over-slot money but also by picking players with higher ceilings than most players around them. It’s a risk, but it’s worked out well for the Royals lately. Springer has one of the highest ceilings in the draft and should be able to contribute during the same timeframe as the rest of their current top prospects. B. Starling is another possibility here.
Stats: .359 AVG 1.091 OPS .473 wOBA

6. Washington Nationals: Jed Bradley, LHP, Georgia Tech
Bradley and Hultzen are the two best LHPs in this draft. Bradley has command of his pitches and isn’t afraid to pitch inside. Roy Clark likely has a ton of information on him from his connections in Georgia. Bradley would slot nicely in between Strasburg and Zimmermann. The pick just makes a lot of sense. If everything works out we could have a homegrown rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Detwiler, Solis and Bradley by 2013.
Link: http://baseballbeginnings.com/2011/03/22/jed-bradley-report
Stats: 2.98 ERA 1.16 11.64 K/9

7. Arizona Diamondbacks: Jackie Bradley, CF, USC
This pick is unprotected to AZ, so the ‘Backs have to draft a relatively easy sign here. Bradley isn’t a senior but at this spot he shouldn’t be a tough sign and could one day be a good tandem in the outfield with Upton. He’s had a tough season this year which was just ended last week by injury but he’s proven over the last two years that he can perform. Arizona and Nats could make for a trivia answer by picking two Bradleys in a row in the first round.
Stats: .259 AVG .829 OPS .367 wOBA

8. Cleveland Indians: Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt
Cleveland has done a great job over the years of developing pitchers. They get another one to develop here in Gray who has great power stuff.
Stats: 2.00 ERA 1.11 WHIP 10.69 K/9

9. Chicago Cubs: Matt Barnes, RHP, UConn
Power right handed pitcher who will be able to handle the cold-weather games that come with being a pitcher on the “North Coast.”
Stats: 0.92 ERA .73 WHIP 7.69 K/9

10. San Diego Padres: Trevor Bauer RHP, UCLA
Statistically, he’s probably the best pitcher in the draft, but GMs will be worried about his pitch counts. However, it’s highly unlikely those worries drop him out of the top 10, as San Diego will be ecstatic to get him here.
Stats: 1.42 ERA .80 WHIP 13.83 K/9

Our system can still use some more quality pitchers. Bradley, Barnes, Gray and Bauer are guys we should pay close attention to when looking at future Nationals. All of them are quality pitchers who’d instantly be a Top 3 prospect in our system next year. If Springer is available, it’d be interesting but I think the pitcher is a safer pick here in comparison to Springer. I am a Jackie Bradley supporter still but #6 is too early to choose him with the players that will still be on the board. The fans screaming for more bats in our system? Don’t worry: We have two more picks in the first round and I think at least one of them will be used on a bat.All stats taken from http://www.collegesplits.com/data.html

Today the Washington Nationals placed SS Ian Desmond on the PL — Paternity Leave — List and recalled OF Roger Bernadina from Syracuse to take his spot on the roster. Desmond is allowed up to three days leave for this newly created roster maneuver, which has also been used by the Texas Rangers’ Colby Lewis earlier this year.

UPDATE: Erik Arnesen has been assigned from Harrisburg to Syracuse, presumably taking Bernadina’s place. At Potomac, Alex Caldera was released and appears to have been replaced by Joe Testa, though no official line item has been posted on MiLB.com

Unfortunately, it was another one-run loss for the Chiefs as the Yankees were able to win in walkoff fashion, scoring a run in the bottom of the 13th inning. While Bynum was able to hit a solo shot for his second homerun in as many games, that would be the only run Syracuse would score as the Chiefs went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Starting pitcher Ross Detwiler pitched a good game, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing only one run on eight hits and two walks while striking out five. Carr, Wilkie, and Rodriguez, combined for five and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out seven. Unfortunately, Mandel couldn’t hold the tie, allowing a 2-out solo home run in the bottom of the thirteenth, pegging him with his first loss of the season.

It was a high-scoring game right off the bat as 10 runs collectively were scored between Harrisburg and Altoona after the first three innings. Down 6-4, Altoona would score four unanswered runs until the bottom of the ninth. That’s when the Senators rallied late, with a Tyler Moore double and Adam Fox RBI single, but they fell one run short for an 8-7 loss. Including a 2-run homerun and another RBI double in the third, Fox ended the game with four RBI on the night. Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore also collectively hit 5-for-9 with three runs scored, three doubles and two RBI. The Harrisburg pitching, on the other hand, was less than admirable. Starting pitcher Shairon Martis, making his ’11 debut, threw four complete innings, allowing five earned runs on eight this and a walk while striking out six. Differnt city, same result as Carlos Martinez took the loss by allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk in his two innings of work.

Paul Demny pitched his best game of the season but had the misfortune of matching up against Texas’s #4 prospect in a 2-0 loss. Demny threw seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. The 21-year-old lefthanded Erlin, however, allowed just two hits and walked none and struck out 10 in his seven innings. Potomac managed just three hits, all singles, and had just one runner reach third base all evening. Folks interested in vicarious road-trippin’ might be interested in following Tug Haines, who was on hand last night at BB&T Coastal park as part of his 113-game sojourn.

Cameron Selik wasn’t about to rest on his laurels, combining with Chris Manno, to short-circuit the West Virginia Power 3-0. Selik scattered six hits over eight innings with no walks and three strikeouts for his fourth win while Manno struck out the side in the 9th for his second save. Jason Martinson led the offense with a 3-for-4 night as the Suns scored single runs in the 1st, 4th and 5th innings, but struggled in the clutch with a 2-for-10 mark with RISP and seven runners left on base.

The Harrisburg Senators announced this afternoon that RHP Shairon Martis has been assigned from XST to Harrisburg, taking the place of Buck Coats, who was placed on the DL. Martis will be starting tonight’s game against Altoona, with Erik Davis expected tomorrow, and Ryan Tatusko slated for Wednesday.

Earlier today, the Hagerstown Suns’ Cameron Selik and Harrisburg’s Brad Peacock were named pitcher of the week for the South Atlantic League and Eastern League respectively. Selik, who will be starting tonight against the West Virginia Power, got the nod with his five shutout innings with 11Ks last Monday. Peacock’s nine-strikeout, seven and 1/3rd innings shutout innings this past Friday led to the award.

Despite an early first inning 2-0 lead, thanks to Seth Bynum’s second homerun of the season, the Yankees were able to fight back, scoring two runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth to win the game by a score of 3-2. Starting pitcher Yunesky Maya was perfect through three and 2/3rds, but took his second loss, pitching seven complete innings, allowing three runs on three hits. Impressively, he had good command of the strike zone, walking none and striking out nine. Kimball pitching a perfect inning of scoreless relief without allowing a Yankee player to reach base.

Harrisburg Senators — OFF DAY

The Senators had an off day but will continue their homestand today with the first game of a four-game series against the Altoona Curve. The Senators’ three-game winning streak has put them atop the Eastern League Western division with an 8-7 record and a ½ game lead over Bowie.

Spot starter Alex Caldera’s struggles continued with yet another multi-run appearance as the journeyman was blasted for five runs on five hits over two-plus innings in an 11-4 Potomac loss to Salem. His ERA stands at 16.71 with 5HRs, 16 hits, and 13 runs given up in seven innings over three appearances. Potomac’s offense was only marginally better, held to just six hits and two walks with six runners left on base.

Hagerstown Suns — OFF DAY

After a losing homestand (4-5), Hagerstown takes to the road for the second time this season with five against the West Virginia Power and four against the Rome Braves. The Suns were 6-2 in the first road trip and are now 10-7, tied for third place, 2½ games behind Kannapolis in the Sally League Northern division.